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PrivateSector; Writing a Big Check, With Style

With the auctioneer's closing gavel, 500 guests at a Swatch charity auction last Tuesday at Sotheby's burst into applause. They had just raised $400,000 for God's Love We Deliver, which feeds homebound people with AIDS. The bidders included Donald Trump, the philanthropist Henry Buhl and the fashion celebrities Heidi Klum and Isaac Mizrahi.

More thunderous applause came when Nicolas Hayek Jr., the president of Swatch, announced the company would match the total raised at the auction. ''Everybody was jumping out their seats,'' Mr. Hayek said. ''I felt I had to escape through the back door.''

Mr. Hayek donated one of the more intriguing items in the lots of Swatch paraphernalia, which ranged from a James Bond watch collection to designer chairs. The Swatch Smart Car, built by Mercedes-Benz, was sold to Mr. Buhl for $17,000, from an opening bid of $8,000. There was fine print, however, in the auction catalog: ''Notice: This car conforms to E.U. standards.''